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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
James Lloyd Kay
Canadian Air Force
Jim Kay was born in 1898 and grew up in Nebraska. His father was a doctor and his mother had died when he was very young. At the age of 16, he lied about his age and got work on a merchant ship that was bound for Europe.
When he arrived in England, the Great War had just begun, it was 1914 and he and his companions decided that with all of the technological advances in weaponry, the war would only last 3 months and if they wanted to be part of it, then they should enlist. Jim lied about his age again and joined the Canadian Air Force. He started as a mechanic on the airplanes and worked up to a gunner sitting in the seat behind the pilot and firing a Lewis machine gun from the shoulder. He was shot down (the pilot was killed) and eventually became a pilot.
The U.S. didn't get into the war until the last year and he transferred to the U.S. Army and was shot down during that time period and spent the rest of the war in the hospital.
After he returned to the states he flew mail from Omaha, NE. to Gillette, Wy. The descriptions he gave and the stories he told make me realize the intuition, bravery, and dauntless courage our ancestors had when faced with adversity and how many took advantage of the opportunities offered to them. He died in 1989. He received no military funeral nor recognition. His records were destroyed in a fire years earlier and the government left it at that. He has no children to carry on his name or legacy.
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